Hilliard leads Villanova past South Florida 68-40

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Darrun Hilliard scored 17 points to lead Villanova to a 68-40 victory over cold-shooting South Florida on Saturday.

The Wildcats (15-9, 6-5 Big East) led by as many as 34 points against the short-handed Bulls (10-13, 1-10), who were without leading scorer and rebounder Victor Rudd, who was out with a groin injury.

JayVaughn Pinkston finished with 10 points for Villanova, which shot 52.4 percent (22-for-42) from the field, including 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from 3-point range.

Javontae Hawkins had 11 points for South Florida, which lost its sixth straight and 10th in 11 games. The Bulls, who entered last in the Big East in scoring at 60.6 points per game, had a season-worst 38 points on Jan. 12 at Louisville.

But the Bulls did set a season low for field goals made (10) and field-goal percentage (22.2 percent), going 10 of 45. South Florida also was a season-worst 1-for-16 from beyond the arc.

The Wildcats dominated the opening half, with Mouphtaou Yarou’s follow at the buzzer to send Villanova into halftime with 39-16 lead. Yarou ended with nine points and 10 rebounds.

South Florida missed 17 of 22 shots in the opening half, while Villanova was 13-for-20 from the field. The Wildcats dominated the glass in the opening 20 minutes, outrebounding the Bulls 21-8. Villanova finished with a 39-28 advantage on the glass.